Nine Reasons We Wish Buddy Holly the Happiest of Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Buddy Holly! Seventy-six years ago today, Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly—the first tall, lanky, bespectacled musician to steal my heart—was born. He’s sometimes credited as “The Father of Rock and Roll,” and while this is almost certainly an exaggeration, he at least helped to popularize the genre and his influence on modern music is enormous. Nearly every hugely successful musician in the second half of the 20th century credits Buddy Holly as an influence if not a childhood idol. There are a million reasons to celebrate his birthday. Here are nine of our favorites. (Don’t worry, none of them are Don McClean’s “American Pie.” We fucking hate that song.)